Tag: bad seatmates View All Tags
Tags: Open Threads / In-Flight Hell / Bad Seatmates / → All Tags
How Do You Survive Long Flights?
Yesterday we wrote about the unspoken rules of seatmate etiquette -- what we think of as best practices for that mighty tin can in the sky. But in an ideal world we wouldn't even notice these minor transgressions; instead, we'd be coasting to our destination unmolested. In-flight Zen, if you will.
The best defense for in-flight annoyances, delays and cancellations, seat-kickers and broken tray tables is a good offense. So what keeps you from going crazy on planes? Because seriously, we're planning to spend a lot of time in the air, so we might as well learn to live in the world as it is, not as we would like it.
Related Stories:
· Five Unspoken Rules of Seatmate Etiquette [Jaunted]
· Ryanair Might Charge You For Peeing In-Air [Jaunted]
· Holiday Hell Survival Tips [Jaunted]
[Photo: dead squid]
Tags: Seatmates / In-Flight Hell / Etiquette / Bad Seatmates / → All Tags
Five Unspoken Rules Of Seatmate Etiquette
Just because your seat pocket doesn't contain a list of rules for Seatmate Etiquette along with the safety pamphlet and the SkyMall catalog doesn't mean the cabin is a place where anything goes. But sometimes we wish the unwritten compact of in-flight behavior was set down -- if only so we could throw the book at our favorite offenders. Are you one of them? We've come up with five regulations for our fellow passengers, and we'll try to abide by them as well.
Tags: Airline Hell / Bad Seatmates / Crime / USA Patriot Act / Terrorism / → All Tags
Be Nice To Your Flight Attendants, Lest They Deem You a Terrorist
There's no shortage of stories about people getting drunk and going nuts on flights these days, but a recent report sheds some light on what happens to these hooligans after they've been frog-marched off the plane by the police. It turns out that the lager lout who peed on the drink cart was actually a terrorist.
Tags: Bad Seatmates / Airline Hell / JetBlue / Shalom Yarimo / Videos / → All Tags
Reminder: Don't Talk About Shooting People Mid-Flight
JetBlue Flight 359 from JFK to Burbank late Monday night had to land in Salt Lake City so the FBI could arrest what it says was a drunken and unruly passenger. Shalom Yarimo, though, told local TV station KSL that everyone onboard just misunderstood him--including when he was chatting with another passenger about the people he shot while in Lebanon.
In an phone interview from his jail cell, the alleged troublemaker said he wasn't even drunk on the flight:
It wasn't on an empty stomach. It was a full stomach and I know how to drink and I don't go over.
After making a few trips to the bathroom, he admits, the crew told him they were diverting to Salt Lake City. But while Yarimo says the crew is just vilifying him, FBI Special Agent Timothy Fuhrman, who's heading up the case, paints a different picture:
Some of his activities included running up and down the aisles, opening the overhead bins, shouting at the flight attendants, making a statement he had shot people in Lebanon.
Yarimo is slated to make his first appearance in federal court today on charges of interfering with a flight crew, and he'll likely also face questions about his immigration status. The FBI says the Israeli may be in the US illegally.
Related Stories:
· Man Arrested on JetBlue Flight Talks to KSL [KSL]
· Unruly Passenger Forces Plane to Land in SLC [Salt Lake Tribune]
· Bad Seatmates coverage [Jaunted]
[Video: KSL.com]
Tags: Bad Seatmates / Airline Hell / United / Maria Esther Castillo / → All Tags
United Crew Duct Tapes Woman To Seat After In-Flight Ruckus
A 45-year-old woman flying from Puerto Rico to Chicago on United Saturday was duct taped to her seat by the crew after she allegedly slapped a flight attendant on the butt, threw a wet cloth across the cabin, poked and prodded her fellow seatmates and stumbled over another passenger before pulling her hair.
Eventually, the pilot decided to divert to Charlotte to toss Maria Esther Castillo from the flight. Once on the ground, she racked up a charge of resisting arrest to go with her count of interfering with a flight crew after, apparently, resisting arrest.
She's headed to a detention hearing in federal court tomorrow at 10 am, during which we'll hopefully learn more about what exactly was on that "wet cloth." We're so hoping it was just water.
Related Stories:
· Passenger Jailed in Flight Disturbance [Charlotte Observer]
· Bad Seatmates coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo of what's probably behind all this: prettywar-stl]
Tags: Air France / Bad Seatmates / Crime / Mathias Guerrand-Hermès / → All Tags
Hermes Heir Arrested in Pun-Tastic Air Rage Incident
Fashion heir Mathias Guerrand-Hermès got out of hand on a recent Air France flight, when law enforcement officials say he started harassing other passengers after gulping down some Propofan and "quite a bit of alcohol."
When the crew couldn't calm the polo-playing purse prince down, the captain intervened. But Guerrand-Hermès managed to menacingly grab the pilot's crotch before being handcuffed, shackled and tied to his seat.
Despite trying, he didn't manage to punch anyone. He's facing a charge of interfering with a flight crew, which could earn him as many as six months in prison if his rap sheet is clean.
Related Stories:
· Hermès Heir Is Charged with Assaulting a Jetliner Pilot [NYT]
· Feds Bag Hermès [TSG]
· Bad Seatmates coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Greyhound / Bad Seatmates / Crime / Buses / → All Tags
Terrifying Travel: Bus Beheading Trial Moving Forward
Remember earlier this summer when horrified bus passengers in Canada watched as a guy allegedly stabbed and decapitated his 22-year-old seatmate? Well, a Manitoba court determined that the suspect in the case, Vince Weiguang Li, is mentally fit to stand trail.
While Li, who's been charged with second-degree murder, will see his case return to court on November 6, a defense attorney says there's more to it than just this psychiatric assessment:
I agree that he is fit to stand trial, but the issue is whether he is criminally responsible for his actions. My position would be in court that he's not criminally responsible for his actions and he did not know what he was doing was wrong.
It will be for a court to determine whether that's correct or not.
Related Stories:
· Canada Bus Beheading Suspect Can Stand Trial [AP, via Google]
· Staycation Travel: The Ultimate Bus Horror Story [Jaunted]
[Photo: Stephen Rees]
Tags: Smoking / Crime / Airline Hell / Bad Seatmates / Christina Szele / → All Tags
Christina Szele Arrested Again, Headed Back to Denver
US Marshals have apprehended Christina Szele, she of the alleged in-flight outburst involving a cigarette, some swearing and a jab to the jaw of a JetBlue flight attendant.
According to authorities, she tested positive for cocaine *twice* while awaiting trial and was slapped with a charge of misdemeanor assault in Queens after a fight with her roommate.
The attorney's office in Denver, which decided to let Szele enter a plea in a New York court, now wants to prosecute its case back in Colorado. Since Szele's been banned from commercial air travel, she'll have to fly back with marshals on a government plane.
It'll be just like "Con Air," except she's innocent until proven guilty in court!
Related Stories:
· Woman from JetBlue Flight Arrested Again [Denver Post]
· Smoker Arrested Again [KUSA]
· Smokin' Szele Plans to Cop a Plea [Jaunted]
Tags: Greyhound / Bad Seatmates / Crime / → All Tags
Staycation Travel: The Ultimate Bus Horror Story
Your bus was late? The bathroom wasn't working? Your driver veered from lane to lane? We don't wanna hear it anymore. Nothing can compare to the horror story told by passengers on a Greyhound bus in Manitoba: They watched as one passenger decapitated another as he slept leaning against a window.
Tags: Smoking / Crime / Airline Hell / Bad Seatmates / Christina Szele / → All Tags
Smokin' Szele Plans to Cop a Plea
Infamous JetBlue passenger Christina Szele will plead guilty to at least some of the federal charges she's facing, according to the Denver Post, citing court documents in the case.
Szele, you'll no doubt remember, reportedly sparked up a cig on her flight between New York and San Francisco and flew into a rage when a flight attendant snatched it from her lips. She was booted off her A320 after it made an emergency pit stop in Denver.
With the plea, it's unlikely she'll get the maximum penalty she could've drawn, but US Attorney Troy Eid is definitely making an example of Szele--just like he promised.
Related Stories:
· JetBlue Flier to Plead Guilty [Jaunted]
· Smokin' Szele Indicted by Federal Grand Jury [Jaunted]
· Drunken Air Rage: Summer's Hottest Trend! [Jaunted]
· Bad Seatmates coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Celeb Travel / Delta / Menudo / Carlos Olivero / Bad Seatmates / → All Tags
1980s Travel: Menudo Member Tossed from Flight
Did you know that Menudo still exists? Apparently the Latin boy band is still around, and one of its current members, Carlos Olivero, got tossed off a Delta flight on the Fourth of July after not complying with a flight attendant's request to stow his iPod.
According to a source quoted by People:
A flight attendant accused Carlos of having an attitude after she asked him to turn off his iPod in preparation for takeoff. Carlos complied and turned his iPod off, but the flight attendant then demanded he stow it. Carlos showed her again that the iPod was turned off, but he refused to stow it.
Come on, folks! How many federal trials will passengers have to face before you realize that you're required to do what FAs tell you?
As for Carlos, he and his mother were booted, and the rest of the band decided to join them in waiting for another flight. They eventually made it to Knoxville, where they performed in front of 75,000 fans still living in the '80s.
Related Stories:
· Menudo Member Kicked Off Delta Flight [People, via]
· Bad Seatmates coverage [Jaunted]
Tags: Drunk Travel / Qatar Airways / Airline Hell / Bad Seatmates / → All Tags
Drunk Travel: Hit Flight Attendant, Get Tied Up
Another airline passenger makes it into the annals of history this week after his very successful attempt at drunk travel.
This time it's a Kuwaiti man who decided to drink more than his fair share of on-board booze while flying with Qatar Airways from Doha to Bangkok. The man was so drunk that he refused to sit down (let alone wear that necessary seatbelt) and hit a flight attendant.
Obviously, hitting flight staff is a big no-no and so the attendants manage to tie his arms and legs together before the pilot made an emergency landing in Mumbai to offload the drunken troublemaker. And we thought Kuwaitis didn't even drink.
Related Stories:
· Drunk Passenger Forces Emergency Landing [Times of India]
· Qatar Airways is the Gas [Jaunted]
· Mid-Air Brawl Over Girl [Jaunted]
[Photo: idf-fotos]
